


Valiant

by Elizabeth_Inkheart



Category: Original Work
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Basically two bros vs the entire freaking solar system, Brady is loyal as hell, Bromance Intensifies, But socially awkward, F/M, Kyle is super smart, Kyle's Dad loves him, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, This is about the fall of humanity, This takes place in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26920459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elizabeth_Inkheart/pseuds/Elizabeth_Inkheart
Summary: The year is 2192. Humanity has colonized two more planets to compensate for overpopulation, Venus and Mars. With overpopulation on the rise again, Humanity hopes to develop a warp drive so that humanity can colonize the stars...Meet Kyle, a soon to be 18 year old boy  preparing to graduate from high school. With his future layed out for him and his best friend Brady by his side, Kyle is looking forward to graduate so he can leave Venus once and for all. Unfortunately for him and the rest of humanity, fate seems to have other plans...
Relationships: Kyle/Brady (Unrequited)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Kyle watched from his apartment window as the Valiant passenger ship was lowered down from the surface. The harsh strands of golden light flooding in from the opening seemed hot even from over a mile away where Kyle was currently sitting next to his bedroom window. The ship that lowered down was large, sleek, and metallic with the heat shield panels still active so the ship itself seemed to glow with all the light reflected off it. From where he was, Kyle could see a glimpse of the stormy gold clouds outside and sheets of acid rain pouring down from the harsh surface environment into the underground society he called home. As the ship lowered, the large doors that made the surface hatch slowly shut closed, and Kyle’s vision was temporarily enveloped in darkness as his eyes struggled to adjust to the drastic change in brightness. He often wondered what it would be like to see the actual terrain of Venus in person illuminated by actual sunlight rather than the artificial greenhouse lights that simulated day and night in the underground landscape.

Kyle continued watching as passengers began to disembark the spacecraft as it smoldered from the planet’s intense heat. He watched and tried to guess which planet each of the passengers were from. The foreigners were easy to pick out from the crowd because many of them walked slower to take in their surroundings. He could recognize that amazement from anywhere. He’s never gotten the chance to be as awe stricken as them. He was born on Venus. He’s never been off world either. He’d seen pictures and learned all about human history on the mother planet, Earth. However, he has never seen the planet in person. The only other giveaway that they were foreigners were the required gravity suits that they wore in order to survive the gravitational difference between the planets humans had already colonized in the Solar System.

Kyle attempted to blink the blotchy silhouette of the bright Valiant passenger ship out of his vision when he glanced at his mirror, calendar. Upon recognizing his face, the holographic screen on his wall showed the date. March 18, 2192. Just three days before his 18th birthday. Only a few more months from now until he can finally pack his belongings and leave Venus for good to live his life to the fullest on the green, life giving, mother planet of Earth. It had been his life’s dream to see Earth. However, having been born on Venus, the planet known for mining and groundbreaking research in chemical engineering, he was stuck in a low financial niche with hardly any means of escape. Only after learning to play the cello and devoting his entire life to work towards majoring in quantum mechanical engineering was he given a scholarship at a highly respected science college in Atlanta known as the Spire. Sure, Kyle didn’t even know if Atlanta was a city, a state, or…do they have districts on Earth? Nevertheless, he was leaving. And that was all that mattered to him.

Kyle walked out of his bedroom to see his father, dressed in a mining suit, setting two coffee cups underneath the spouts of the coffee machine to catch the two warm beverages while he turned back to the stove to flip over the egg he was cooking in order to make omelets. The kitchen was filled with the clashing smells of stir-fried food and strong-smelling coffee combined with the warming scent of fresh bread from the oven. The two-sided television in the middle of the kitchen table was turned to the Valiant News Network channel and the news reporter on screen was explaining what seemed like another political debate between politicians and scientists.

_Statistics shows that the population in Valiant, Venus’s largest city and only city, has increased exponentially and now scientists are saying that the minimum required standards of living, as demanded by the Solar Council back in 2087, is resulting in structural damage in the city’s infrastructure. Dr. Shinzaka warns that there are ‘too many people to make room for’ and is recommending sending at least 10% of the population to other planets in the solar system…_

Kyle’s gaze was broken when a plate with an omelet and a mug with a latte was set down in front of him. The two-sided television turned off and retracted back into the table as the father set down his own plane and mug on the table then sat down to join him. “It still surprises me that they want to kick that many people off the planet.” He states, clearly referencing the news report. “Personally, I think it won’t change anything if they just keep building more residential areas. If anything, it’s better business for us miners. Means I won’t go out of a job.” He cracked a sly smile then shoveled a fork full of omelet into his mouth and Kyle did the same. Kyle’s thoughts about the news he just heard voiced themselves in his head almost to the point where the long pause was barely noticeable. Kyle swallowed, then took a sip of his coffee before he spoke. “ I’ll be living on Earth soon anyway so… I’m not really all that worried.”

The father met his son’s gaze with sad eyes before chuckling “Yeah, well that’s pretty convenient seeing how they don’t have to worry about space over there.” Kyle shot his father a quizzical look. “Really?” The father took a swig of coffee. “Of course, they don’t. Unlike ours, Earth cities aren’t underground. So, if they run out of room, they can just build straight up!” Kyle chuckled and rolled his eyes at his dad’s joke before continuing to eat his food. With a glance at the time, he finished shoveling his bread into his mouth, attempted to chase it down with coffee, and with a mouth full of food announced his departure. Kyle’s dad gave another encouraging smile and grabbed Kyle’s plate for him so he could go to school. Kyle grabbed his book bag full of holopads and checked his pocket for his pocket board before he left the small apartment.

Kyle barely missed the elevator and decided to take the stairs, practically leaping over the entire last flight on the way down. Once outside of the building, he pulled out his pocket board, pressed a button and flung it to the ground. Immediately a hard light hoverboard appeared from the small rectangle he had flung, and Kyle began skateboarding on his way to school through the ever-crowded city streets of Valiant City’s pedestrians. He skated past the relatively short metal buildings that mutually shared a tangled mess of wires hanging off of their rooftops. He skated around the roundabout which, like all of them, was marked by the sturdy pillar spanning dozens of feet in diameter that stood in the center traveling all the way to the cavernous ceiling hundreds of feet above them. This pillar was marked by a bold number 437 painted onto it which specified that Kyle was from the 437th district. Kyle took the first exit to the left and sped up as he weaved between pedestrians and slow-moving construction vehicles which were one of the service-only vehicles used in Valiant City.

Kyle, after passing two more right turns, turned right on a wide street full of other people on varying assortments of hover craft as they zipped around people who simply just…walked to where they needed to go within the district. The green stripes cornering all the roads turned blue at the intersection ahead, indicating the start of sector 438. Kyle sped up for the intersection and immediately took a right turn to get into his school’s parking lot. School Center 437-439 was the school center that took care of all children that belonged to any of those three districts. Kyle jumped off his pocket board which he stuck back in his pocket, then began a quick jog to get to the high school wing. The hallways were crowded as usual and Kyle actually felt like the day was going to be alright until he sat down to see the test notification on his teacher’s light board in his first period class. A test he’d completely forgotten to study for…Today was going to be a long day.

The day finished quickly enough, thankfully, and Kyle was spending time with his friend, Brady on this particular Friday. The two of them did everything together and, decided to celebrate Kyle’s birthday tonight rather than on Monday because it was a school night. The two of them rode their hover craft, Kyle on a hoverboard and Brady wearing hover skates, to get to the Immerse Arcade. The Immerse Arcade was popular all throughout Valiant City for its groundbreaking virtual reality technology known as the Dreamscape which allowed people to use their dreams as a form of virtual reality. It was a completely virtual world people could log into whenever they wanted and play any of the games their specific subscriptions paid for. If they weren’t in the mood to play, people could even just go there to hang out with friends since the entire dreamscape, unbound by the laws of physics, had some of the best rollercoasters in history. Kyle and Brady spent hours doing co-op matches in their favorite action game called The Last Men on Earth. The story is about a handful of characters that were the only ones to survive a massive alien abduction. Now, those characters must fight to free the enslaved humans from the evil aliens’ clutches. It was Brady’s favorite game.

Kyle’s character stood at average height while Brady’s hulking character form towered over him. The two were desperately trying to infiltrate an alien ship to hijack it but they were currently heavily pinned down by alien laser fire. “ My shields won’t protect me long enough to push!” Brady yelled over the concussing sound of yet another grenade exploding not far from them. Kyle frantically searched his inventory and remembered he had access to drones. Immediately, Kyle flung one high in the air to his left, and another to his right. Within mere seconds, the tiny capsules transformed into large drones bearing lasers which easily shot the aliens pinning the two down within seconds. Kyle stood, called the drones back, then wiped some dirt off his character’s shoulder rather smugly. “What did I tell ya, Brady? Brain is better than brute strength.” Brady scoffed “Whatever, man. Just because you have tricks up your sleeves doesn’t mean you carry these matches. I deal way more damage than you!” Kyle was quick to fire back “But I have a better kill/death ratio, AND a higher hit percentage!” Brady retorted “Hey, that hit percentage doesn’t count! Most of your special skills have auto aim features anyway!” Kyle flashed a sly smile when he replied, “I know. That’s why my character is better.” Brady hmphed rather than try to retaliate because he knew anything, he said would just backfire on him like before. With the area cleared of hostiles, the two marched through the alien doorway to reach the next checkpoint and save their progress.

The rest of the night was spent like that. Brady and Kyle played the same game for hours, and when they were finished, decided to go to Dreamscape plaza for some cake. The food in Dreamscape was Kyle’s favorite part. Each person could ask for whatever they wanted, and it would show up customized to that person’s tastes. Ask for a pizza, it automatically comes with your favorite style, toppings, and side dishes. The cake Brady asked for, for example, ended up being chocolate for Kyle, but Marble for Brady. The food always tasted perfect. The ability for such a program to be able to trick a human mind in such a capacity made Kyle’s mind tingle with admiration. He loved this kind of tech. And Brady, always loved to see his best friend’s excitement towards it. There was something about Kyle that made Brady grow closer to him than he had with any of his other friends. At some points, it mystified him completely. But in moments like these, all he could think about was making his friend smile. Brady watched Kyle as he finished his cake and noticed the tiny, excited tapping of his feet that followed each bite he took. He smiled then, and just as quickly as the tapping started, it stopped.

“Brady?” Kyle asked, a hint of concern showing in his voice, “What are you staring at?” Brady glanced up and met Kyle’s vibrant green eyes and noticed he hadn’t touched his cake in a while. How long had he been staring? “Nothing, man, I Just spaced out for a second.” A second of silence passed before he quickly added, “I’m tryna think about what we should do tomorrow.” Kyle smiled “Well don’t think so hard, man. We’ve got time. Hell, we’ve got all the time in the cosmos especially since you’re going to the Spire too.” Brady shook his head “No, man! You only turn 18 once! We gotta celebrate like it’s the last time we’ll be able to! Eighteen is a big step for us!” Kyle laughed “Alright! Fine! But it’s almost midnight, and we have to sleep eventually. Besides, if I know my dad well, we can come back here tomorrow.” After grumbling for a minute, Brady finally gave in. “Fine. It’s your birthday anyway. Let’s log off for now.” The two exited simultaneously, and felt themselves lying down in the cool gel beds they had started off in. Sitting up, they detached the headpieces, and left the building.

Kyle entered his apartment around 12:30 am and knew his dad was already working his night shift at the mining complex. He entered the small kitchen to set his schoolbag down near the chair he usually sits next to for breakfast and sighed. On the table was a small cake with a birthday candle that was almost completely melted away. Next to the small cake was a small gift box with a blue ribbon and an envelope which no doubt held a card. Kyle turned on the kitchen light to see his gift and extinguished the nearly dead candle. He opened the box and inside he found a retro styled silver watch with blue ticking hands, silver and gold gears, and everything. It looked beautiful. He opened the card and read what it said.

_Dear Son,_

_The watch I gave you is a Patek Philippe Skeleton watch that has been a family heirloom since before the Solar Council was even formed. I figured you would like this fancy little time gadget and I think it’ll look really nice on you. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you any of that high tech stuff you wanted, and I'm sorry I had to leave before you got home, but something told me you would appreciate the beauty of such a rare antique like this one. Plus, if you are ever in a bind, it will sell for a ton of money especially now that it’s over a century old. I love you very much, and hope you have a very fun rest of your birthday. I’ll be sure to make a big ol’ birthday breakfast when I get home tomorrow!_

_Love, Dad_

Kyle smiled as he gently pulled out the watch and tried it on. It fit snugly around his wrist and the metal pieces that made the straps felt cool against his skin. Kyle watched as the gears spun, some slowly, others quickly, and when he raised the watch to his ear, he could hear a rhythmic ticking sound that proceeded to echo in the back of his mind. He felt so touched by the gift he got. This was by far, way better than any of the high-tech stuff he had been saving up for. He figured he could watch the swirling gears all day. As Kyle gently took off the watch and stuck it back in the tiny box, he heard a notification from his phone. It was a text message from Brady saying that he would be there early tomorrow to pick him up. Kyle smiled and put away his phone. Classic Brady. Kyle, noticing how tired he was, slipped the untouched cake in the fridge to eat for tomorrow, and headed off to bed. He could not wait to thank his dad for the watch tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A strange disturbance wakes Kyle up from his sleep...

A deep rumble shook the house which stirred Kyle gently from his sleep. What was that? Kyle glanced at his nightstand and noticed it was roughly 4 in the morning. Kyle looked out of his window and noticed people sprinting with their arms full of stuff. He looked in the distance and noticed that there were ships launching faster than he ever thought possible… and they were all leaving. What was happening? Kyle dashed from his window and ran to his closet where he grabbed a dusty bookbag from the top shelf. He checked the contents. Good. All his emergency stuff was still there. Racing out of his room another louder boom rumbled through the house. This one strong enough to make Kyle lose his balance. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Kyle raced into the kitchen and grabbed his favorite jacket and checked his pockets for his pocket board and phone. As he was going to leave, something in his mind told him to grab the watch he was gifted off the kitchen table, so he snatched it, threw it in his bag and raced out of the house.

The streets were full of people panicking and running in every which direction. Kyle noticed one of his neighbors hurrying out of the apartment building with a large bag in hand. He asked her “Mrs. Tenoshi! What is happening?” Mrs. Tenoshi shook violently from fear as she replied “The-there was a mining accident! The ceiling is collapsing! We are evacuating the planet! Our whole sector is going to collapse!” She pushed past Kyle and hurried into the crowd when another loud noise rang out followed by a tremor that knocked several people to the floor. Kyle looked to his left and saw that a support pillar had collapsed and buried everyone underneath layers and layers of surface rock. Kyles heart felt like it was slammed into as he realized something. _Dad…_ Immediately, Kyle began sprinting towards the wall of debris in the far distance calling out for his father at the top of his lungs. He had to be ok. _He needed his dad to be ok…_

A pair of arms grabbed Kyle and shook him violently. A familiar voice yelled at him from amidst the panicked screams and shook him from his daze. “Kyle!” Kyle snapped back into focus and recognized Brady’s face full of worry. “Kyle! What are you doing?! We need to get to the launch pad before it’s too late!” Kyle shook his head as he began staring at the collapsing cavern that was getting ever closer. “No...I need to find him! I Need to find my dad!” He began struggling against Brady’s grip his voice growing louder. _He had to be ok. He must be ok…_ Brady fought to hold Kyle still while he struggled to rush towards his demise. Kyle began screaming. “ LET ME GO! I NEED TO FIND MY DAD! I NEED TO-“ “YOUR DAD IS GONE!” Brady screamed at him. Kyle stilled and stared at Brady his eyes full of disbelief. “THE WHOLE WESTERN COMPLEX GOT DESTROYED! NOBODY COULD HAVE SURVIVED!” Kyle began shaking. His eyes looked distant. He was in shock. “KYLE LISTEN! WE CAN STILL SURVIVE IF WE LEAVE NOW! LET’S GO!”

Brady began pulling Kyle with the rest of the crowd as the collapsing cavern creaked and groaned under the suddenly unstable weight. Large stones began falling around them and crushing people nearby. Some blood from an unfortunate person splashed onto Kyles face. They needed to speed up. Kyle and brady glanced at each other, then pulled out their hover craft. The two began skating at top speed to weave around passerby and work their way towards the nearest launch pad. Another loud crashing noise and the duo looked to their left to see several apartment buildings falling like dominos. The wires snapped and sparks flew everywhere as another district was plunged into darkness. “Brady, skate faster!” The final building of the row began to collapse and fall. If it did, their route would be cut off. The two drove their feet into the ground harder and faster. They reached for the streetlight post at the corner and used it to slingshot themselves underneath the falling building before it collapsed on top of them.

The two felt relief for a split second until they looked into the distance as a ship pulled away with people trying to hold onto the outside of it. Kyle noticed the frantic crowds behavior near the launch pad and it clicked. _That was the last ship._ Brady began to veer towards the crowd but Kyle grabbed him. “That was the last ship! We’ve gotta get to the next Launch Bay!” Brady’s eyes filled with realization and fear as Kyle began skating even faster through the panicked streets. Screams filled their ears and the groaning of metal supports being torn apart behind them spurred them further on. The next Launch Pad was nearly two miles away. They had to focus. The two skated past the useless launch pad and noticed people fighting all over the place.

The screams grew in intensity as the district they just skated out of got plunged into darkness as well. _Don’t look back…Keep going. You can make it…_ Kyle’s legs were growing tired and threatened to give out as they passed through yet another panicked district. They noticed some people rioting the stores, others preaching at the top of their lungs about the end of humankind. One woman got trampled. Another man shot an older man to steal his hoverbike. One man just stood amidst the screaming crowd and stared at the chaotic scene that had erupted around him.

Brady skated when suddenly a large rock landed in front of him. Without time to react, Brady’s legs crashed into the rock and he was launched forward. Kyle skidded to a stop. “Brady!” He picked up his board but didn’t retract it as he sprinted over to his friend. Brady sat on the ground in pain holding his right leg. “My leg is broken!” Dread coursed through Kyle’s veins as he set down his skateboard and help Brady stand up on one leg. “We’re almost there! I’ll skate, you steer!” Supporting Brady from underneath his right arm, Kyle began skating forward, their combined weight harder to bring up to a fast speed. Brady leaned to weave them through the crowd and the two of them began leaving the people on foot behind them once more.

The Launch Pad grew closer. Kyle noticed people sprinting up the loading ramp while loading officers frantically tried controlling the onslaught of people trying to enter the craft. _We can make it. We can make it. We can make it._ Brady yanked Kyle right to swerve around a construction vehicle which was covered in panicking people fighting to get into it. Kyle looked at the billboard above the Launch Pad. ‘Final Ship Departing’ Adrenaline coursed through the duo’s veins as they grew closer and watched as the vacancy counter quickly ticked down to Zero. The two of them reached the loading ramp. _15 spaces left… 12 spaces left…_ Kyle got off his skateboard and sprinted as quickly as he could while Brady slid frictionless on his one skate covered leg. _7 spaces left… 5 spaces left…_ They struggled as they pushed themselves through the dense crowd. _3 spaces left…_ The two of them pushed themselves through the passenger gate and heard an electric droning noise as the hard-light barrier activated and stopped the rest of the crowd from getting on. The panicked screams behind them increased tenfold as people were walled off from their escape. _We made it…_

The two reached the entrance and chose window seats near the back of the craft. Kyle helped Brady grab the seat next to the window before sitting down next to him. He watched as the loading officers closed the door behind them. _We made it…_ Brady looked out of the window. “Oh my god we’re gonna die...” Kyle looked past Brady’s head and noticed the collapsing ceiling fast approaching them. _Leave, leave, leave, leave, LEAVE!_ The sound of rumbling and tearing metal reverberated throughout the interior of the ship as the structure it perched on began to break. Without any flight announcements, Kyle felt the engines roar to life. The ship filled with screams as the people on the ship watched the wall of destruction approach with nowhere else to go. The ship engines grew louder as it launched out of the cave.

Kyle watched the ground as the ship immediately pulled away from the Launch Pad entrance. The metal entrance warped in a strange shape as a web of cracks engulfed the entrance. The entrance lid lurched, then collapsed on top of the now broken entrance causing a cloud of dust to rise as the ground seemed to deflate. The ground grew farther away, and the destructive sounds slowly faded away as they flew higher and higher into the atmosphere. The screaming on the ship had stopped and now the only noise that was heard was the droning of the ship engines. Everyone too startled to speak about what had happened. Kyle and Brady exchanged glances and kept staring out of the window as the surface of Venus grew further and further away. The windows snapped shut as the ship’s heat shields were activated, and it wasn’t until the soft glow of the interior lights of the ship turned on that Kyle released a long shaky breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding…They made it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank goodness Brady cares so much for him...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kyle is in shock and Brady tries to help him feel better.

The gradual increase in chatter stirred Brady from his sleep and he immediately was met with a web of pain erupting from his shin as he tried to shift in his seat. He cursed silently under his breath as he shifted slowly to not cause any more pain then turned to see how Kyle was holding up. Kyle stared blankly at the back of the chair in front of him. The blood that had splashed on Kyle’s face had dried and it made him look like a murderer. The only sign he wasn’t frozen was his thumb absentmindedly rubbing against the silvery edge of a very pretty watch Brady didn’t recognize. The look in his eyes was unlike anything Brady had ever seen from his friend before…and it scared him. Brady hesitantly reached out and gently touched Kyle’s arm and felt it tensed up, and trembling. Kyle still didn’t move from where he was. “Yo…” Brady said gently, “you ok?” It was at the sound of Brady’s voice that Kyle began to move as if he was free from whatever daze he had locked himself in.

His shoulders sagged slightly, and his eyes began frantically searching for something in the back of the seat…something Kyle wasn’t sure of but knew wasn’t there. He let out a deep breath and forced himself to breathe when he said “I…never got to thank him…” Something inside Brady’s heart threatened to break when he heard Kyles voice. It was so raw…so… _vulnerable_ … Brady sighed as he didn’t know what to say in response. He wanted to be there for his friend, but he didn’t know how. He never had a good relationship with his dad, and his mom had gone back to Earth when he was an infant. He never had what Kyle had, and as a result, he will never feel what it’s like to have that taken away. Not sure of what else to do, Brady began to reassuringly rub Kyle’s arm “Listen man, you know I’ll always be here for you, right?” Kyle, still staring at the chair gently nodded. His trembling began to increase, and Brady could swear he could _see_ the pent-up emotions inside of his friend.

Brady’s hand brushed across something and he looked down. For the first time, Brady saw streaks of what looked like burn streaks on Kyle’s arms. _Where did those come from?_ Brady thought back to the events that happened earlier. Nothing was on fire, and even then, nothing would’ve burned his arm this way so what could have… _oh…_ Brady glanced back at Kyles arm and saw how the streaks resembled a liquid. It was the acid rain. The collapsing ceiling must’ve made some openings above them that they were unaware of. Brady glanced at Kyle to see him still staring at the chair. Brady shook Kyle’s shoulder gently. “Dude, you’ve got acid burns on your arms. We need to get that fixed.” For the first time since they left the planet, Kyle looked at Brady and just stared at him. His mouth was open slightly as he desperately tried to think of something to say but couldn’t bring himself to say it. Tears began welling up in his eyes. Brady shook his head. “Kyle, you and I both know it isn’t healthy to keep this to yourself. Ive been here for you ever since we were 5 years old. I know how much you hurt yourself when you lost your mom. Please, I am begging you, don’t do this to yourself again.” Brady put an arm on Kyle’s shoulder. “Just let it out, man. I'm here for you.”

Tears began rolling down Kyle’s face as the words Brady said sank in. He began to cry and leaned forward until his head rested against Brady’s shoulder. Silent sobs shook through his body and Brady just sat there holding Kyle in an embrace letting him cry it all out. The crying continued for several minutes as Kyle took shaky breaths and just buried himself deeper into Brady’s shoulder as he whimpered out “I never got to thank him and how he’s gone! I miss them so much.” Brady felt his heart lurch when he realized he said ‘them…’ Both of his parents are gone now… He has no other family… _except me._ Brady patted Kyles back “Its alright, man. You’re safe and you’ve still got me. We’ll get through this. You’ll see.” Kyle stilled at the words Brady said and it hit him, he still had Brady. He wasn’t alone… Kyle sighed. The aching in his chest finally subsiding as he fought to regain his composure. He sat up and wiped away the tears from his cheeks. Brady glanced at his shoulder and noticed a large wet spot on his shirt. Kyle noticed the stain he left. “Sorry about your shirt.” The two of them chuckled when Brady said “Nah, no worries. You can just buy me a new one.”

Brady shifted in his seat again and winced and tried to hold in the urge to scream out in pain. _Damn this broken leg…_ Kyle’s smile melted away immediately along with all other signs of him crying just minutes before. “You need help.” Kyle looked around the aircraft at what was happening. Flight attendants were rushing around the rows of seats with wet towels and first aid Kits. Kyle raised his hand to get the attention of one nearby. She hurried over with poorly hidden exhaustion on her face. “Is there something you need?” Kyle spoke up for the two of them “Is there a doctor, or some painkiller anywhere on this ship? My friend’s leg is broken.” The lady glanced at Brady who was currently biting onto his shirt to keep from crying out in pain. Sweat was beginning to form on his brow from the strenuous effort of keeping the leg from touching anything in the least painful way possible.

The flight attendant nodded before quickly saying “I’ll go ask around. We weren’t made aware of any major injuries yet.” The flight attendant briskly walked off and whispered something to another flight attendant who then reached for the microphone and spoke in a rather hushed tone. “Attention passengers, this is important. There is a passenger with a broken leg that needs medical assistance. Is anyone here a doctor?” There were a few seconds of heads turning every which way and murmurs traveling through the rows of seats until a man with smokey gray hair stood up and forced his way towards the flight attendants. The flight attendant pointed to Kyle who waved at the man in response. The man came over as quickly as he could without bumping into anyone.

“Alright, boys. Follow me to the first-class section. We’re gonna need room to treat this.” Kyle stood and helped Brady get out of his seat. A flight attendant helped lead the entourage to the first-class section all the while helping to clear a path for Brady to get through. Once at the first-class section, the flight attendant found a cooperative person to give up their place so Brady could sit, and he did so gently. The dirt and dust on his dark skin seemingly more obvious now that he was contrasted against the white of the chair. Kyle sat to Brady’s left and the doctor sat in front of Brady as he rolled up his pant’s leg and removed the hover skate on Brady’s left foot. He sent away the flight attendant to get a first aid kit and some long sturdy objects of any kind. The doctor examined Brady’s bare shin. The area around the break was swollen and tender and the leg itself seemed to hang at an odd angle. A deep gash was bleeding from where the jagged edge of the debris had hit Brady’s shin and there was dry crusted blood on the upper edges. Every slight movement made Brady wince in pain and Kyle’s fingers were turning purple because Brady was squeezing his hand so hard.

The doctor’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he tried to examine the extent of the damage without causing any more damage. He sighed before he spoke. “That wound is going to make it difficult for me to do anything else. As serious as the break is, I'm going to have to treat this gash before it gets infected lest you want to lose your leg completely.” The doctor looked at Kyle. “Kid, I’m gonna need some damp towels to help clean up this blood. Go get some.” Kyle nodded and slowly pried his poor fingers from Brady’s death grip. His entire hand throbbed with the sudden release of blood constriction. Brady’s hand began gripping the arm rest of the chair he was sitting on, and as he walked away, Kyle could swear he heard the arm of the chair creak from Brady’s squeeze. He hurried to a different flight attendant and asked them for some warm towels that they tended to have in the first-class section. He grabbed a bowl full of them and hurried back to see the other flight attendant handing the plane’s first aid Kit to the doctor.

Brady’s eyes were still shut closed and he was trying to calm down his breathing. The pain in his shin was overwhelming and it seemed like the skin was so hypersensitive, if a butterfly landed on it, it’d feel like an anvil did. Tears were threatening to leak out of his shut eyes and Brady couldn’t help but groan in agony as the doctor began wiping away the crusted blood on his leg. The doctor said something to Brady, but he couldn’t tell what he said. Next thing he knew, the wound on his leg felt like someone had simultaneously poured lava on it and skewered his leg with a hot poker. The sudden shock of pain shook his resolve drastically and he couldn’t help but scream in agony which caught the attention of several other people in the first-class section. The pain seemed to coil under the surface of Brady’s skin and brady began slamming his fist on the arm rest to try and focus his mind on something else. He could feel sweat rolling off his forehead and he wished desperately that this was a dream he would wake up from.

After what felt like an eternity the pain began to subside only to pick up again slightly when the doctor inserted a needle into Brady’s skin to stitch the gash shut. Brady’s entire body felt hot and his leg felt like it was stuck over hot embers. He wanted it to end… He wanted to sleep, relax, play videogames, do literally anything else except sit here and suffer through this torture. Almost in response, the pain began to subside slightly. Brady’s breathing calmed somewhat, and he dared to open his eyes. On his leg was a line of stitches almost the length of his middle finger. The surrounding skin was back to a normal color, and his leg was being wrapped in a splint made with bandages, gauze, and some metal rods that looked like they belonged to a tent setup. Brady sighed at the decrease in pain and absent mindedly reached for Kyle’s had. Instead of a hand, Brady felt four pills stuck into his hand and a cup of water was held out in front of him by the doctor. Brady began to swallow the pills while the doctor explained. “These pills should help with the pain. I’m not sure how long we’re going to be stuck on this ship, so I gave your friend the rest of the bottle. Don’t take anymore until 8 am tomorrow.” Brady forced himself to nod then sighed and let his head fall to rest against the comfortable chair. His thoughts seemed to drift off and his eyes were closed until he heard a familiar voice call his name. Brady opened his eyes to notice Kyle with gauze bandages on his forearms. His burns had been treated. His green eyes were full of concern as he spoke. “Brady, are you ok?” Brady felt his chest tighten and his heart rate quicken at the sight of him. That strange feeling seemed to put him at ease, and another sigh escaped his mouth before he spoke “You know me, Ky…just got upgraded to first class… Might as well enjoy it” Brady reclined the chair he was on further and Kyle couldn’t help but laugh a little. Classic Brady…


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ship gets clearance to make an emergency stop at Earth.

Brady was stirred out of a sleep he didn’t realize he’d fallen into by the increasing sound of chatter. There was a seemingly constant pressure of pain that pulsed rhythmically in his leg and he felt like the rest of his body was made of lead. He didn’t want to move. As he looked around, he caught bits and pieces of other people’s conversation. He concluded that they were still in orbit around Venus. Brady forced himself to sit up and noticed Kyle asleep in a chair next to him. At the sound of fabric, however, Kyle stirred and jolted awake. He immediately helped Brady sit up and asked “Hey…how are you feeling?” Brady shrugged, “Eh…I’ve been better.” Brady looked around confused. “What is everyone all excited about?” Kyle gestured towards the front of the ship. “We’re about to hear what the game plan is…so to speak.” Brady looked to the front of the ship and sure enough, a flight attendant was walking over to a speaker system to give an announcement.

“Attention everyone. We just received word from our sources that most of Valiant City has been destroyed. The City Core was not destroyed; however, it is now being exposed to the elements and has no cooling system to keep them from overheating. These transport ships carry the only survivors of this incident.” Murmurs undulated throughout the crowd of people and somewhere behind them, Brady could hear people crying. Brady snuck a glance and saw Kyle’s face darken slightly while his hand tightened around the watch on his wrist. The Flight attendant continued speaking. “The Edens have been notified of our situation and are preparing Hospitals and nearby Hotels to allow you all to recuperate and take refuge upon our arrival.” More murmuring traveled through the craft. Brady stopped to think. _But Edens were people from Earth…For them to be so willing to help is quite rare._ The feeling of awe began to sink in as the weight of the situation began to sink in. Valiant City was completely gone. That meant Humanity had lost it’s hold on Venus entirely. They wouldn’t be able to return back to Venus any time soon. It took decades for humanity to colonize the planet and even then, the technology to do so took even longer to develop. This was a bigger deal than he had realized. But, then again, not everyone thinks about what some sort of incident means politically while running for their lives.

“Thankfully, we are still within the travel window so we will be leaving for Earth shortly. For your safety it is highly recommended you wear a Gravity Suit that is calibrated for Earth’s gravitational pull. To make sure things go smoothly, we will be releasing you by section so you can take turns using the bathroom stalls to put them on. Thank you for your cooperation.” The flight attendant stopped talking and the murmurs from the crowd began to pick up again. Brady began to think about what the flight attendant said. If they’re almost out of the travel window, they’d have to use a slingshot maneuver in order to conserve fuel. Brady looked out of his window to the giant golden orb that took up most of his view. He watched mesmerized as the clouds swirled and morphed into different patterns and shapes. It was a beautiful planet in many ways and had been his home for his entire life. Venus was the only thing both he and Kyle ever knew…And they’d probably never see it again.

Now it was Brady’s turn to fight tears as all the memories he had on that planet seemingly painted themselves into the colorful golden clouds miles below him. Kyle turned and noticed Brady’s emotional state and rested his hand on Brady’s arm. “Brady…I want to tell you something.” Brady tore his eyes away from the window to face Kyle. Kyle’s vibrant green eyes stared directly into Brady’s and the emotional turmoil in Brady’s chest was flushed away by the quickening pace of his heartbeat. Kyle opened his mouth, took a deep breath and said “I probably wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you so…thanks for saving my ass… _again._ ” Brady’s face had the slightest of smiles as he replied. “Yeah, well… now you owe me two things. You owe me for saving your life, AND you owe me a new shirt.” Brady pointed to the tear stains that had now dried up on his shirt and Kyle couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, come on, man! You seriously are gonna hold me to that, huh?” Brady shrugged with a sly grin on his face and the two continued with their playful banter to pass the time. All the while, both of them were silently thanking whatever deity that existed for making sure they were together. There was no one else they’d rather be with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all those wondering, the people in the city core basically got cooked to death. Them being trapped while being exposed to the direct heat of the surface of Venus basically made the core into a giant, city sized oven.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After having a bad dream, Kyle recalls how good of a friend Brady was to him in the past.

_Kyle watched in horror as the ship they were running towards got crushed and exploded. Both he and Brady threw themselves to the ground to avoid the burning debris. The heat could be felt from where they were and the smell of burning fuel singed their nostrils. That was the last ship…They were trapped. The two of them turned amidst the crowd of screaming panicking people to see the collapsing ceiling draw ever closer. The two of them were trying to avoid the collapsing ceiling and survive even though they knew it was futile. A rock fell. Kyle felt strong hands push him forward so hard he lost his balance. He turned around to see Brady’s body pinned under the giant rock while he screamed in agony. The ceiling opened up and the brightness blinded Kyle. He staggered and began to scream as acid rain began to melt him away…_

Kyle jolted awake to see Brady sleeping safely by his side. His leg was still elevated and it looked strange now that the temporary splint was squeezed into his Gravity Suit. The window showed a lovely view of the deep endless void of space and the bright spheres of light peppering its smooth surface. Kyle’ arms were burning in response to the dream he had and he rubbed them gently to subside the ghostly burning sensations that had been plaguing him in his dreams. Kyle glanced at the small screen showing how much longer they had until arriving at planet Earth. They had left Venus roughly two hours ago. They still had four hours to kill. Kyle sighed and adjusted in his seat until he was facing Brady. He observed how much more peaceful he looked now that he was asleep. He didn’t seem to be in pain like he was when they first started tending to his wounds and certainly no longer looked embarrassed about Kyle having to help him get dressed into his Gravity Suit. As he watched Brady’s chest rise and fall, he began to think back to the chain of events that led them here.

Brady had insisted on celebrating like it would be his last day…What a coincidence. Kyle had felt like he had all the time in the world. He had felt so invincible and ambitious now that he was turning 18 and had gotten accepted into the college of his dreams. Somehow, he knew… he just _knew_ that his life would be full of success…But then it all disappeared. His life _literally_ fell apart around him. His life was _not_ perfect and within seconds all he had were mere minutes left to live. The realization that he was going to die had shocked him. He was so shocked by it; escape hadn’t even registered to him. In seconds he was desperately trying to hold onto his life and keep a grip on what he had known…what he had _always_ known…But he couldn’t…

It is because of this that Kyle now smiles when Brady lets out a loud snore before falling silent again. Before now, he never realized just how vulnerable he really was. And nobody had ever been there for him more than Brady. Ever since Kindergarten when they first met, Brady had been there to help Kyle in any way he possibly could. In school, Brady would always hang out with Kyle even though the other kids would usually hang out with other people. The two would always do homework together so they could help each other with their learning. When Kyle’s mom had died, Brady visited every single day and sat outside Kyles locked bedroom offering words of encouragement and his help to make Kyle feel better. Kyle was 13 when his mom had died. At the time, his mom was everything he had looked forward to. His mom encouraged him to stand out despite what others said and helped him feel on top of the world. When she left…his life felt pointless. Despite it all though, there was always a voice telling Kyle to keep on going and stand strong and now that he was here on this transport ship looking back on his life, he realized that voice was, and always had been Brady’s.

What was it, then, that made Brady so undyingly loyal to Kyle and nobody else? What was it, that made their friendship go deeper than any kind of familial bond Kyle had ever experienced? Why, after all these years, had Brady sacrificed so much just to be with him? Was there a scientific explanation for it? Was there _any_ explanation for it? Kyle’s brain continued to ponder these questions for what felt like minutes and he didn’t realize he had spaced out until a very familiar voice spoke up.

“You know, it’s considered creepy to watch people sleep…right?” Kyle snapped out of his theoretical daze and met Brady’s deep brown eyes. Kyle stammered “Uh…I-I was just pondering over something. I didn’t realize I had started staring…Sorry.” Brady smiled and shook his head. “You overthink things too much sometimes.” He adjusted in his chair cautiously to try to keep his leg from hurting. He gestured to the small screen that was currently turned off. “How much longer until we get to Earth?” Kyle readjusted so he was facing forward again. “We have about four hours left.” Brady sighed. “Good. Means I can go back to sleep…And I suggest you do too. No doubt we’re gonna have a lot of stuff to do once we get there.” Kyle nodded and reclined in his seat to try and coax himself into relaxing. Before long, the constant thrum of the engines lulled Kyle into a, thankfully, peaceful sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kyle and Brady see Earth in person for the first time in their life.

The two were gently awoken by the chime that sounded throughout the ship indicating they were safely in orbit around Earth. As they sat up they saw people fastening their seat belts, stowing what few items they had with them, and preparing themselves for the descent into Earth’s atmosphere. Kyle began to help Brady sit up when the doctor that had helped them hours before came and sat down in the row next to them. He fastened his seatbelt and turned his head to face Kyle. “As soon as we were in range, I called the Edens and let them know of your condition. I’ll have you escorted to the nearest hospital as soon as we land, ok?” Kyle nodded and smiled. “Thank you so much for your help, Doctor. We greatly appreciate it.” The doctor gave them a thumbs up and looked straight forward.

Kyle turned to see Brady looking out the window. “Kyle…it's…beautiful.” Kyle looked out of Brady’s window to see the giant blue sphere known as Earth. The sun was beginning to set and from the altitude they were at, they could easily see the crescent of bright day followed by the largely shadowed portion of the planet decorated with numerous patterns of golden light emanating from the enormous cities miles down below. As they orbited towards the west, the golden specked night was chased away by the bright blue vibrant colors of day. From where they were, they could see tiny clouds casting streaks of shadows across the Earth’s atmosphere in one place and long wispy clouds in another which looked like they gently blanketed the vibrantly colored surface below.

There was one thing Kyle noticed about the planet before him that he wasn’t expecting, and he voiced it absentmindedly. “…Where’s all the green?” Upon closer inspection one could notice that majority of the planet’s landscape was covered in metropolitan area, and whatever green that existed was in very sparse pockets across the vast continents. Brady didn’t care too much about it as he was still awe struck by seeing so much water in one place. Kyle however was a bit disappointed. Earth didn’t look like it did in the history documentaries at school.

Both Kyle and Brady’s attention were taken away from the window by the sound of a flight attendant’s voice on the speaker system. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our entrance approach to planet Earth. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened, that you are sitting upright, and that all valuable items are securely stowed away. We will be descending shortly.” Sure enough, after the flight attendant finished speaking, the windows shut closed and Kyle could hear the electric hum of the heat shields activating while the interior lights of the passenger ship came on. Kyle and Brady looked at each other. Kyle gave a nervous smile as he spoke “First time on Earth…you ready?” Brady gave a confident smirk in response as he said “You kidding? I was born ready.”

The two faced forward as the artificial gravity within the ship switched off. The two felt the seatbelts hold them down while they felt weightless. Their Gravity suits began to compress in response to try to simulate normal gravity for their circulatory system and Kyle could hear Brady grimace from the pain of having his body compressed. For the next few seconds, nothing happened, Then, they watched as the Earth seemingly moved while the ship tilted, and they began to fly towards the Earth’s surface. Gradually, their sensation of weightlessness turned into a sensation of free falling as the ship began accelerating into the outermost layers of the atmosphere. The deeper they flew, the more the ship began to shake violently from the turbulence of entering Earth’s atmosphere.

The turbulence continued for another two minutes and the walls of the ship felt warm to the touch. Just as Kyle thought something might be wrong, the shaking stopped, and the ride was smooth again. It was now when Kyle noticed that he didn’t feel like he was falling anymore and instead felt like he was sitting on a gradual slope with a heavy weight pulling down on every part of his body. Kyle felt his Gravity suit shift the compressions from his chest to his legs and glanced over to Brady in response. Sure enough, Brady was gripping the arm rests of the chair grimacing in pain with his eyes shut. Kyle moved his arm, which felt weird in the new gravitational field, to place his hand on Brady’s arm. Brady’s eyes opened and he smiled at the gesture from his best friend.

After about another minute, the interior lights went off and the windows of the ship opened again to reveal a strangely alien landscape constructed of nothing but cloud formations. There were clouds of all shapes and sizes, many of them were super fluffy and practically all of them were white. Both Kyle and Brady stared unblinking at the fluffy objects before them. They’d never seen clouds like these before. Their gazes then shifted to the next thing they noticed which was the ground much closer to them. From this height they could easily see buildings of all shapes and sizes. No two buildings looked alike and it made them even more interesting to the two of them.

As they flew closer to the tiny buildings in the distance they also began to lower substantially. The clouds they saw mere minutes before were now above them and as they continued to lower, they noticed the seemingly tiny buildings in the distance were actually _much_ larger than they looked. The tallest of the buildings stood at 5280 feet making it literally a mile tall. The building was very wide and cylindrical with large rectangular openings on the sides, anda very large circular hole at the top. The ship approached the top of the building and slowly lowered itself into one of the six holes. The interior of the building was filled with other ships of different makes and models however, most of the ships seen were Valiants. Both Kyle and Brady were speechless as the ship landed on a platform which then pulled the ship into one of the large rectangular openings. The platform switched off, and Kyle could feel the engines of the ship switch off. They had landed.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely original work that I've worked on for a few months now. Since many of you showed me such encouragement on my Among Us fanfic, I've grown confident enough to post my original work on AO3 for now. I do plan on continuing this and turning it into a book eventually so please let me know what you think of the story down in the comments.


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